But Clement ran hard on every carry, finished with 86 yards on 21 carries and showed tremendous effort on UW’s lone touchdown.

UW held a 6-0 lead in the third quarter but already had wasted several scoring chances when Clement took a handoff from Bart Houston on second and goal from the 5.

He pushed into the middle of the defense, kept battling and was ruled down at the 1.

The replay official overturned the call, however, and Clement was credited with a 5-yard touchdown run to help UW take a 13-0 lead.

Clement carried four consecutive times on the five-play, 58-yard drive. He gained 12, 10, 4 and 5 yards to finally get the ball into the end zone.

Defensive play of the game

Clinging to a 14-13 lead in the final quarter but facing third and 8 from their 33, the Tigers put the ball into the hands of stud tailback Leonard Fournette – with a screen pass into the left flat.

Fournette had two blockers leading the way, but UW reserve linebacker Ryan Connelly, subbing for injured starter Chris Orr (leg), made the play of the game.

Center Ethan Pocic, 6 feet 7 inches and 302 pounds, went low on Connelly. The former walk-on went over the top of Pocic and drilled Fournette and held him to a gain of 3 yards.

The Tigers punted, UW drove within field goal range and Rafael Gaglianone drilled a 47-yarder to help send the Tigers back to the Bayou a bit blue.

“That was amazing,” UW senior cornerback Sojourn Shelton said of Connelly’s effort. “It happened right in front of me. That was one of the best plays I’ve ever seen.

“Blockers coming. He slipped the block and was able to get Fournette on the ground.”

Special teams play of the game

UW junior kicker Rafael Gagliaone is healthy again after a subpar sophomore season and no doubt is motivated by the tragic death of his friend, former Nebraska punter Sam Foltz.

Gaglianone, just 18 of 27 last season, was 3 for 3 Saturday and delivered the game-winner from 47 yards with 3:47 remaining.

His kick was reminiscent of his 46-yarder in the closing seconds to stun Nebraska last season.

“Nebraska I had already missed (two) and it was kind of do or die,” Gaglianone said. “I was having a tough day out there.

“Today I just talked to coach and said: ‘This is my range going into this direction.’

“We were within my range and I was pretty loose out there. And I had full confidence in my holder and snapper that they were going to get the job done for me. The made it pretty easy for me."

BY THE NUMBERS

2 Third-down conversions by LSU, in 10 attempts

3 Field goals by UW kicker Rafael Gaglianone

7 Tackles by UW reserve linebacker Ryan Connelly

100 Receiving yards by UW tight end Troy Fumagalli

257 Total yards for LSU

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

» UW rotated redshirt sophomore Micah Kapoi and redshirt freshman Jon Dietzen at left guard in the first half. Kapoi did not play in the second half because of a left-leg injury and Dietzen went the distance.

» UW went with sophomore Olive Sagapolu and freshman Garrett Rand as the top two nose tackles. Redshirt sophomore Jeremy Patterson, who gained 15 pounds in the off-season and weighs 350 pounds, did not dress for the game.

» Eleven freshmen were in uniform for UW but only four played. They were safety Eric Burrell (special teams), wide receiver Quintez Cephus, wide receiver A.J. Taylor and Rand.

UP NEXT

Akron (1-0) at Wisconsin (1-0), 2:30 p.m. Saturday

The Zips, coached by Terry Bowden, were picked to finish third in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They opened the season with a victory Saturday night against Virginia Military Institute. Suffice to say, the Zips are stepping up in class this week against UW.